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I am a judge for the Writers of the Future contest, and am so very proud this year, because two of the winners are former writing students of mine: Stephen Kotowych came to see me when I was writer-in-residence at the Toronto Public Library’s The Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy in 2003 (and is a mainstay of The Fledglings, the writers’ workshop I set up with the best students from that residency), and Tony Pi was in my intensive SF writing course at the University of Toronto in 2001. (Note: judging is done anonymously, without any names or identifying details on the manuscripts.)

Here’s a press release about them: (sadly I won’t be at the awards ceremony this year; I’ll be off in China):

TONY PI AND STEPHEN KOTOWYCH OF TORONTO TO BE HONORED AS WINNERS OF WORLDWIDE WRITING CONTEST

Celebrities, Best-Selling Authors, Famous Illustrators To Fete Newcomers At the Prestigious Athenaeum Club on the Grounds of Caltech

Pasadena, CA– Twelve winning writers and twelve illustrators from around the globe–including Tony Pi and Stephen Kotowych of Toronto–will be honored during the 23rd Annual L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards at the Athenaeum Club on the grounds of California Institute of Technology on Friday, August 24th, 2007 beginning at 8 pm.

The highlight of the ceremony will be the announcement of the year’s two Grand Prize winners who will each receive $5,000. Quarterly winners also receive cash prizes from $1,000 to $500. Their winning stories and illustrations will appear in the annual anthology L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers and Illustrators of the Future, volume 23 (Galaxy Press, 2007).

Throughout the Contests’ 24-year history, over 500 writers and illustrators have been recognized as winners. “What’s amazing to me is that a good 60 to 70% of winners go on to successful careers,” says New York Times’ best-selling author Anderson (Dune prequels, Seven Suns series). “You could call it ‘The American Idol’ for writers-long before there ever was such a show.”

The Writers of the Future Contest was initiated by L. Ron Hubbard in 1983 to provide a means for aspiring writers to get a much-needed break-its winners have gone on to publish over 550 novels and 1,400 short stories, selling an impressive 31 million copies of their works combined-enough books to fill the payloads of 6 space shuttles.

Because of the success of the Writers’ Contest, the format was expanded to include a companion Illustrators of the Future Contest in 1988. Many of the illustration winners have gone on to highly successful illustration and design careers.

“The Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests have proven to be the most effective means for contestants to make their break in the publishing industry, an industry renowned for being closed to the newcomer,” said John Goodwin, Galaxy Press president. “Well over six million fiction and non-fiction manuscripts make the rounds annually to find a publishing home, yet only 2,500 new science fiction and fantasy titles are published each year, and many of these are from already established authors.

“That’s why these Contests were created – because it’s so hard to get published and there are so many talented people who give up on their dreams to see their works in print.”